If you want to stay ahead of the competition as a freelancer and ensure a steady stream of work you need to offer more than just awesome design skills to your clients. Your customers won’t just remember the final product, they’ll look at the experience as a whole – make sure it’s a positive one!

Imagine going to a restaurant and enjoying one of the best meals that you have ever eaten, but the service was lousy, I mean really lousy. You had to wait over an hour for your food; the waiter was inattentive and he even got part of your order wrong. Would you go back to the restaurant again or recommend it to a friend? If you’re anything like me, you’ll remember the entire experience rather than just the end product.

If You Say You’ll Do Something, Do It

If you make a commitment to a project, whether it’s a particular deadline or a piece of functionality, ensure you follow through. If you promised the client a website with a full content management system within two weeks, you better make sure you deliver on time. Failing to do so could have a massive knock on effect on your client’s business – say for example your client is expecting the final bug free version of a site in two weeks time and has planned an extensive marketing campaign on this basis and you miss the deadline. You have caused your client both valuable time and money. Somehow I don’t think they’ll be too happy and I doubt they’ll want to work with you again.

When it comes to dealing with a new client you are only as good as your word and not living up to your word will more than likely earn you a bad reputation and lose you repeat business.

Be Honest

Your client wants a full e-commerce website that they can update themselves and they are willing to pay big bucks for it. You’ve never designed, let alone built an e-commerce site before; do you take on the project even though you are unsure whether you will be able to do a great job in the time available?

I’m a huge advocate of taking on challenging projects and using them as an opportunity to learn new skills as well being paid for doing it. However there is a big difference between taking on challenging project and being well out of your depth. Taking on a job that introduces a big learning curve will pretty much guarantee that the end product won’t be as good as it should be.

If you can’t do a particular job, be upfront and honest with the client. Maybe you know somebody else in the industry who has the experience that you don’t. You can outsource the parts of the project that you can’t do well, whilst you focus on the areas that you know you can deliver.

Stay in Touch

Every client is different; some will expect regular updates whilst others will be a lot more relaxed and leave you to it. I like to provide my clients with regular updates, whether it’s just a short email to let them know that we are still on track and things are going well or screenshots or the URL on my test server where I will give them access to areas of the site that are almost ready.

I find that by providing my clients with regular updates that it helps to put their mind at ease that the project is in safe hands and all is going to plan. If the client has seen the work in progress and is pleased what they’ve seen, it also gives me peace of mind that they won’t be asking for massive changes towards the end of the project.

If a client sends you an email or leaves you a message, you should always try to get back to them within 24 hours at the most, especially during the working week. Whilst it’s important for the client to understand that you do have other projects and they shouldn’t expect your world to revolve around them; it’s equally important that you be contactable during working hours. If you prove impossible to get a hold of, you will more than likely be perceived by your client as unreliable.

Don’t Just Design – Advise

There are times when you can give the client exactly what they want and times when you need to advise them that what they want isn’t the best idea. A lot of clients, particularly those who have entrusted you to build their first website, don’t always know what is best for them. For example they insist you use a certain set of colours or layout style, you know that it just isn’t going to work; although they seem convinced it’s a brilliant idea. Do you just do what they ask or do you advise them against it and explain the reasons why? I like to think of that a large part of my job as a designer is to advise and if necessary educate my clients. Not only will they appreciate your honesty, but they’ll also be happy to know that you care about their website just as much as they do.

Get And Understand The Facts

It sounds like an obvious point, but do you fully understand exactly what your client’s needs are? Do you know who your clients competitors are, who their target audience is, what they want their website to achieve, are there specific functionality requirements? You’d be surprised how many designers don’t fully understand their client’s needs before starting work on a project. The result is an unhappy client who hasn’t got what they asked for and a designer who won’t be walking away with a glowing reference.

Go the Extra Mile

The freelance design industry is fierce with competition; there are countless design agencies and designers who offer quick and very low cost design services. Competing as a freelance designer and making a good living can be extremely difficult unless you stand out from the crowd. Offering outstanding customer service to your clients is just one of the ways you can make sure you do stand out, earn repeat business and receive glowing recommendations from your clients.